FORMER deputy prime minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today pleaded not guilty to an amended charge of corruption over the foreign visa system (VLN).

Judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa ordered the amended charge to be read out to Zahid, 69, after allowing deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin’s application to amend the second charge, which involved a change of date from April 2017 to March 27, 2018.

According to court documents, Zahid is charged with receiving RM3 million in cash from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) when he was the home minister

He is accused of committing the offence in Jalan Bayu Nyaman, Country Heights, Kajang, on March 27, 2018. 

The amended charge, framed under section 165 of the penal code, carries a penalty of up to two years in jail, a fine or both.

Zahid is facing 33 charges of receiving bribes amounting to S$13.56 (RM42) million from UKSB as an inducement for himself in his capacity as a civil servant and the then home minister to extend the contract of the company as the operator of the One-Stop Centre (OSC) in China and the VLN system as well as to maintain the agreement to supply VLN integrated system paraphernalia to the same company by the home ministry.

Zahid is accused of obtaining for himself S$1.15 million, RM3 million, €15,000 (RM82,500) and US$15,000 (RM66,000) in cash from the same company in connection with his official work.

The trial continues. – Bernama, June 9, 2022.